Eddie Harris was born on October 20, 1934, and passed away on November 5, 1996. He was an American jazz musician who played the tenor saxophone and helped introduce the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also skilled in playing the electric piano and organ. His most famous songs include "Freedom Jazz Dance," which became popular through musician Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here."

Biography

Eddie Harris was born and raised in Chicago. His father was from Cuba, and his mother was from Mississippi. He studied music with Walter Dyett at DuSable High School, where many other successful Chicago musicians, such as Nat King Cole, Clifford Jordan, Johnny Griffin, Gene Ammons, Julian Priester, and others, also learned. Later, he studied music at Roosevelt University, where he became skilled in playing the piano, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. While in college, he performed professionally with Gene Ammons.

After college, Harris was drafted into the United States Army. While serving in Europe, he joined the 7th Army Band, which included musicians like Don Ellis, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton.

After leaving the military, Harris worked in New York City before returning to Chicago. There, he signed a contract with Vee Jay Records. His first album for Vee Jay, Exodus to Jazz, included his jazz arrangement of Ernest Gold’s theme from the movie Exodus. A shorter version of the track, which featured Harris playing the upper register of the tenor saxophone, was widely played on radio and became the first jazz record ever to be awarded a gold certification.

The single, "Exodus," reached the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 16 on the US R&B chart. In 1964, Harris moved to Columbia Records and then to Atlantic Records the following year, where he re-established his career. In 1965, Atlantic released The In Sound, a bop album that won back many of his critics.

In the years that followed, Harris began playing the electric piano and the electric Varitone saxophone, blending jazz and funk music that sold well in both jazz and rhythm and blues markets. In 1967, his album The Electrifying Eddie Harris reached second place on the R&B chart. The album’s second track, "Listen Here," was released as a single and reached No. 11 on the R&B chart and No. 45 on the Hot 100. Harris released multiple versions of his composition over the years, including studio and live concert recordings. The first version appeared on an early Atlantic album, Mean Greens, with Harris playing the electric piano. He later reworked the track, extending it to over seven minutes, for his hit version, where he played the saxophone. The full track appeared on both sides of the Atlantic hit single and was split into two parts. For the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1968, Harris was nominated for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance for Small Group or Soloist with Small Group for the album The Electrifying Eddie Harris.

In 1969, Harris performed with pianist and vocalist Les McCann at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Despite not rehearsing, their performance was so successful that a recording of it was released by Atlantic as Swiss Movement. This became one of the best-selling jazz albums ever and was nominated for Best Jazz Performance – Small Group or Soloist with Small Group at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1970.

Harris also created the reed trumpet, which he first played at the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival. He moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in the 1970s. From 1970 to 1975, he experimented with new instruments he invented, such as the reed trumpet (a trumpet with a saxophone mouthpiece), the saxobone (a saxophone with a trombone mouthpiece), and the guitorgan (a combination of guitar and organ). He also sang blues, recorded jazz-rock with musicians like Steve Winwood, Jeff Beck, Albert Lee, Ric Grech, Zoot Money, and Ian Paice, and performed comic R&B/blues songs, such as "That is Why You're Overweight" and "Eddie Who?"

In 1975, Harris alienated some of his audience with his album The Reason Why I'm Talking S–t, which focused mainly on comedy. After recording for Atlantic for over 12 years, Harris left the record company after completing his final album for the label in 1977. He then signed with RCA Records and recorded two albums.

Harris died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles on November 5, 1996, at the age of 62.

Discography

• 1961: Exodus to Jazz (Vee-Jay)
• 1961: Mighty Like a Rose (Vee-Jay)
• 1961: Jazz for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (Vee-Jay)
• 1962: A Study in Jazz (Vee-Jay)
• 1962: Eddie Harris Goes to the Movies (Vee-Jay)
• 1963: Bossa Nova (Vee-Jay)
• 1963: Half and Half (Vee-Jay)
• 1964: For Bird and Bags (Exodus), also released as Sculpture (Buddah)
• 1964: Cool Sax, Warm Heart (Columbia)
• 1964: Here Comes the Judge (Columbia)
• 1965: Cool Sax from Hollywood to Broadway (Columbia)
• 1965: The In Sound (Atlantic)
• 1966: Mean Greens (Atlantic)
• 1967: The Tender Storm (Atlantic)
• 1968: The Electrifying Eddie Harris (Atlantic)
• 1968: Plug Me In (Atlantic)
• 1968: Pourquoi L'Amérique (Disc'Az) soundtrack
• 1968: Silver Cycles (Atlantic)
• 1969: High Voltage [live] (Atlantic)
• 1969: Swiss Movement (Atlantic) with Les McCann
• 1969: Sculpture (Buddah), previously released as For Bird and Bags (Exodus)
• 1969: Free Speech (Atlantic)
• 1970: Come on Down! (Atlantic)
• 1970: Live at Newport (Atlantic)
• 1970: Smokin' (Janus)
• 1971: Second Movement (Atlantic) with Les McCann
• 1971: Instant Death (Atlantic)
• 1972: Eddie Harris Sings the Blues (Atlantic)
• 1973: Excursions (Atlantic)
• 1974: E.H. in the U.K. (Atlantic)
• 1974: Is It In (Atlantic)
• 1974: I Need Some Money (Atlantic)
• 1975: Bad Luck Is All I Have (Atlantic)
• 1975: That Is Why You're Overweight (Atlantic)
• 1975: The Reason Why I'm Talking S–t (Atlantic)
• 1976: How Can You Live Like That? (Atlantic)
• 1978: I'm Tired of Driving (RCA)
• 1979: Playin' with Myself (RCA)
• 1980: Sounds Incredible (Angelaco)
• 1981: The Versatile Eddie Harris (Featuring Don Ellis) (Atlantic), recorded 1977
• 1981: Steps Up (SteepleChase)
• 1982: The Real Electrifying Eddie Harris (Mutt & Jeff)
• 1983: Exploration (Chiaroscuro)
• 1986: Eddie Who? (Timeless)
• 1987: People Get Funny (Timeless)
• 1989: Live in Berlin (Timeless)
• 1990: Live at the Moonwalker (Moonwalker Label)
• 1991: A Tale of Two Cities [live] (Night/Virgin), recorded 1978 and 1983
• 1991: There Was a Time – Echo of Harlem (Enja)
• 1993: For You, For Me, For Evermore (SteepleChase)
• 1993: Yeah You Right (Lakeside)
• 1993: Listen Here (Enja)
• 1993: Artist's Choice: The Eddie Harris Anthology (Rhino) 2-CD
• 1994: Freedom Jazz Dance (Musicmasters/BMG)
• 1994: Vexatious Progressions (Flying Heart)
• 1994: The Battle of the Tenors (Enja) with Wendell Harrison
• 1996: Dancing by a Rainbow (Enja)
• 1996: All The Way Live (Milestone) with Jimmy Smith; recorded 1981
• 1997: The Last Concert (ACT)
• 2005: Exodus: The Best of the Vee-Jay Years (Charly)
• 2017: Live: Las Vegas 1985 (Hi-Hat)

With Buddy Montgomery
• Ties of